Their performance was significantly improved compared to that against New Zealand a fortnight ago, which ended their 19-game home winning streak. However, they are still not functioning at their usual fluent best – that is, the sort of form which saw them win the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations and beat South Africa away over the summer.
Head-to-Head
This will be the sixth Test meeting between the two sides, with Ireland having won all previous encounters. Their most recent clash was in November 2022: a 35-17 victory for Ireland in Dublin.
Ireland have scored five or more tries in four of the games against the Flying Fijians, however as Fiji continue to build, Ireland have won their last two games by fewer than 20 points.
While Ireland have averaged over 40 points per game against Fiji, they narrowly escaped with a 23-20 win in their 2017 meeting.
Team News
Attention will likely focus on Tadhg Furlong's availability. The tighthead prop has been nursing a hamstring injury sustained during the pre-Autumn training camp in Portugal.
Furlong was present at the Aviva for Friday’s win over Argentina but remained on the sidelines. In his absence, Leinster’s Thomas Clarkson made his debut from the bench, as Tom O’Toole was also unavailable.
If selected Cian Healy will overtake Brian O’Driscoll as the most-capped Irish player of all time. He is currently tied with O’Driscoll on 133 caps, among props, only Australia’s James Slipper has earned more caps for a single nation in men’s Test rugby with 142.
Ireland appear to have come through their 22-19 victory unscathed, although Ryan Baird exited shortly after coming on in the second half.
For Fiji, former Bristol Bears centre Semi Radradra is still serving his three-week suspension following his red card against Wales and will therefore be unavailable for the game against Ireland.
Form Guide
Ireland ended a three-match losing streak in their last five Tests with a narrow victory over Argentina. While their scoreless second-half display against the Pumas highlighted areas for improvement, there were promising signs in the team’s second Autumn Nations Series outing.
Fiji, meanwhile, have had a mixed November. After a heavy loss to Scotland, they shocked Wales in Cardiff and followed it up with a 33-19 win over Spain, overturning a 19-7 deficit with four tries in the final 30 minutes.
They have won three out of their last four Test matches against European opposition, including each of their last two, however the Flying Fijians have never won three in a row against such opposition.
Farrell’s Lions Sabbatical Looms
With Ireland playing four Tests this autumn to mark the IRFU's 150th anniversary, Andy Farrell has just two games left before stepping away to lead the British and Irish Lions for their tour to Australia next summer.
Farrell's impending 11-month sabbatical places extra significance on his selections over the next fortnight, as he rotates his squad for Fiji before hosting Australia on 30 November. Players will be eager to impress, knowing opportunities to catch Farrell’s eye will be limited before his Lions duties begin.
